


Parent-Teacher Night

by realityisoverrated



Series: Infinite Love [205]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, Smoaking billionaires, Toliver, flommy, mention of past postpartum depression, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 08:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20422706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realityisoverrated/pseuds/realityisoverrated
Summary: Oliver and Felicity are spending the evening listening to Bobby's teachers tell them how wonderful he is. Even though life is finally getting back to normal, Felicity can't help but think she has neglected her eldest. Oliver steps in to remind her how far they've come and how much they have to look forward to.





	Parent-Teacher Night

**Author's Note:**

> This story depicts a polyamorous relationship between one woman and two men. If this is not something you are interested in, please stop and go no further.
> 
> Nola Nola asked for a young Bobby installment. I went through my drafts and found this story ready to be edited. Bobby doesn't make an appearance, but he is very much present.
> 
> This installment is 149/205. The chronological list for the series, with hyperlinks, can be found at  
http://archiveofourown.org/works/11051019
> 
> Welcome to any new readers. The more the merrier.

Artwork by smoaking-greenarrow

The Cobble Hill Middle School was typical of most of the Middle Schools in Starling City. Between her husbands’ family foundations, Felicity had become quite an expert on the city’s schools. When Oliver had first started out as the Hood, most of the city’s schools had been failing. Those who could afford it, had moved out of the city and sent their children to the top-notch schools in the suburbs or elite private schools. After the Undertaking and the Siege, The Rebecca Foundation and the Queen Foundation began to invest in the city’s public schools. Crumbling schools had been torn down and replaced with state-of-the-art facilities. Scholarships were awarded to teachers to receive advanced degrees in education, science and math. Once they’d become parents, the Merlyn-Queen-Smoaks wanted to make sure that every child in the city was able to get the same education as their own children. Felicity wasn’t so naïve to believe that everything was perfect. She knew that throwing money at a school system didn’t always translate to improved outcomes, but between Team Arrow and the family foundations, they were doing everything they could to make sure every kid in Starling had a fair shot. Having grown up in poverty, Felicity knew how lucky she’d been to have a mom and a few teachers who fought for her and made sure her intellect wasn’t neglected. Yes, Felicity Smoak was a genius, but she’d also been incredibly lucky. She hated to think of all the kids she went to school with who weren’t geniuses and had fallen through the cracks because luck hadn’t been on their side when they’d been born into their neighborhood.

When they first placed Bobby into public school instead of the private school Oliver and Tommy had attended, they’d been roundly criticized by the city’s elite. The wealthy were guilty of viewing their children much as the landed medieval gentry did. The children of the wealthy and powerful who went to school together became friends, grew up, got married, and made deals with their friends’ families. No one was happy to learn that the wealthiest family in Starling wasn’t going to play by the established rules of society. It was almost as if they’d removed their children from the playing field by sending them to public school. It seemed like at every society event they attended during Bobby’s time in kindergarten they received an earful about how they were sacrificing their son’s future for the sake of their bleeding heart causes. Even though the city’s public schools still weren’t perfect, Felicity was far more terrified of Bobby repeating his dads’ high school exploits than her own. In Felicity’s opinion, too much money with too little supervision was just as dangerous as too little money with too little supervision. The only difference was the kids with too much money were better able to get away without a permanent record. There had been some hiccups with their fame and the public schools, but, on the whole, Felicity was convinced their choice to attend public schools was the right one.

The slam of a heavy metal door made Felicity jump in her uncomfortable plastic chair. The school’s hallway was lined with colorful chairs that were filled with bored looking parents. It was parent-teacher night at the middle school, and everyone looked like they wanted to be somewhere else. Oliver paced up and down the hallway, stopping every few feet to look at a corkboard display. Felicity had some sympathy for Oliver. Even after getting his college degree, he still felt out of place inside a school. It was a feeling Felicity both shared and found completely foreign. She’d loved the learning part of school – books, lab experiments, and teachers. She’d hated the social aspect of school – the cafeteria, gym, and school dances. She’d been an outsider her whole childhood and she didn’t want the same for her son. During her pregnancy with Bobby, Tommy and Oliver would lay awake at night teasing each other about having a child just like them – cosmic justice for what they’d put Moira and Robert through. Not once did Felicity worry that their child would be too much like her. Felicity never appreciated the terror her own mom had gone through trying to make the right decisions for her until she found herself faced with the same decisions. At least Felicity wasn’t alone. She had Tommy and Oliver to share the weight of their decisions.

Feeling her eyes on him, Oliver glanced down the hall towards his wife. Felicity nodded to the chair next to her. Oliver’s shoulders sagged in defeat. He hung his head and slowly made his way back towards her.

The woman across the hall from Felicity giggled. Felicity smiled at the woman and the woman smiled back. “The Comets are playing tonight,” the woman whispered loudly. She nodded to the man beside her, “He’d rather be watching basketball.”

Felicity nodded with understanding. “Same with Oliver,” she lied. Oliver was less worried about basketball than he was about prepping for a takedown the team had planned for later in the night.

“Mrs. Russo?” the woman asked. “English.”

“Mr. Litt,” Felicity answered. “Algebra.”

Oliver sat heavily in the chair beside her. “Why does this school always smell terrible?” he said. “They need to open some windows.”

“It’s puberty and boiled broccoli,” the dad from across the hall said to Oliver. “They really shouldn’t put so many eleven to thirteen-year-olds together. They’re not fit for society.”

The woman gently swatted her husband’s arm. “Don’t say that, Bill. Their son is just a little guy.”

The dad’s eyes opened wide as he realized who was seated across from him. “Right. Our daughter is in chemistry with your son. She says he’s ruining the curve.”

“Sorry about that,” Felicity said with a sympathetic grimace. Ruining the curve was something she’d been accused of throughout school too.

“Don’t apologize. He motivates our Jessie to study harder,” the mom said.

“Jessie Barlowe?” Oliver asked with interest.

“Yes, that’s our daughter,” the woman said nervously.

Oliver smiled kindly and took Felicity’s hand. “Our Bobby says your daughter is very nice and a good lab partner.”

The woman sighed with relief. “That’s good to hear – that she’s a good lab partner. Chemistry hasn’t been her favorite subject.”

“It wasn’t my favorite either,” Oliver said.

Felicity covered her mouth with both hands but couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her lips. Tommy claimed that chemistry was always Oliver’s best subject. She retook her husband’s hand and gave it a squeeze, “Oliver likes to downplay his academic achievements.”

“That’s because I didn’t have any,” he said with a wink to the parents across from him. “Luckily, Bobby gets his brains from his mom.”

The door across from Oliver and Felicity opened and the Barlowe’s were ushered into the classroom.

Oliver leaned his head against the wall as his right leg bounced with nervous energy. “I feel like I’m waiting to be called into the principal’s office.”

“I’ll be very shocked if his math teacher has an unkind word for us,” Felicity said. Math was Bobby’s favorite subject.

Oliver turned his head to look at his wife. “I honestly don’t know why we come to these things.” Switching to an officious voice, he said, “Robert is a very remarkable boy. I have never seen someone so young be able to grasp concepts with such ease.” He sighed. “Tommy talks to his teachers once a week. What are they going to tell us that they don’t tell him?”

“It shows that we take an interest,” Felicity said.

“I’m pretty sure the school knows we’re interested,” Oliver said.

“Not the school, Bobby,” Felicity explained. “He likes it that we take a night off from work to see his teachers and hear good things about him.” She could feel tears welling in her eyes. The last three years hadn’t been easy on their eldest. Felicity’s fertility challenges, her hospitalization and subsequent postpartum depression had been hard on all of them, but it had been hardest on Bobby. She felt like she’d abandoned him when he’d needed her most. Starting junior high before his sixth birthday was a scary thing and he had to go through it while his parents were distracted. Now that he was about to turn eight and getting ready to transition to high school, Felicity wanted their son to know how much he was loved and how proud they were of him. “My mom never took off from work, except for parent-teacher night. It meant a lot to me that she would take the time to meet with my teachers - even though they always said the same thing. When Bobby wakes up in the morning, we’ll get to tell him all the good things we heard and how proud we are of him. He’ll know that he’s more important to us than our jobs.”

Oliver looked surprised. “You don’t think Bobby knows he’s more important to us than our jobs?”

Felicity shrugged. “The twins have monopolized a lot of our attention.”

“He knows that we love him,” Oliver said, turning to face her. 

“He’s seven. How can he understand that we love him when all our time is spent working or running from appointment to appointment with the twins?” Felicity asked.

“He’s a genius,” Oliver said with a small smile.

“I’m being serious, Oliver,” Felicity said.

“So am I,” Oliver insisted. He held out his cell and flipped to a picture of Bobby and Becca laughing as they tickled Felicity on the living room floor. “B2 know they’re loved, and they love you. Our family is together and every day we’re all getting stronger.”

Felicity wanted to believe that Oliver was right and that they should all focus on the future, but she’d only fully emerged from her postpartum depression four months earlier. She felt like Bobby and Becca still watched her like she might disappear. She hated that her children were cautious around her. She hated that they might be forever scarred by her depression. Her deepest fear was that her children didn’t believe she loved them. Her therapist told her to be patient while everyone found their new equilibrium. Felicity felt guilty that her family had to find a new equilibrium at all.

“Hey,” Oliver said, squeezing her hand and snapping her from her melancholy train of thought, “let’s go to dinner after this.”

“Dinner?” she asked, dabbing at her eyes. “We’ve got to work tonight.”

Oliver shrugged. “Do we?”

“I’m pretty sure the other half of our team is prepping for tonight’s work,” Felicity said in a whisper.

“When’s the last time you and I ate alone together without discussing work?” Oliver took her hand, “I’m tired. I want to hear good things about our son, take you for a nice meal, and talk about how amazing you, Tommy, and our kids are. Tommy’s been hinting at a beach vacation over the holidays.”

Felicity liked the sound of a beach vacation. It had been too long since they’d gone away as a family and relaxed together. “Aruba?”

Oliver kissed the back of her hand. “If it was just the three of us, I’d say Aruba is perfect.”

“Four little kids on a flight to the Caribbean, not very relaxing.” Felicity let out a heavy sigh. “Hawaii?”

“I was thinking Mexico,” Oliver said.

“I’m pretty sure Thea isn’t kidding when she says Tommy isn’t allowed in Mexico,” Felicity said somewhat seriously. Tommy was surprisingly tightlipped about his time in a Mexican jail.

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Thea exaggerates.” When Felicity looked at him over the top of her glasses he offered, “Okay, if Mexico is out, how about Costa Rica or Belize? I want to go somewhere we won’t be recognized.”

Felicity rested her head on Oliver’s shoulder. “That sounds nice. You should check with Sam about bringing William – or invite Sam and Richard to join us.”

“How about Emma and Mrs. Green?” Oliver asked. “We’ve been debating what to get Emma for Hanukah.”

“I think there’s a better chance of you marrying Bruce Wayne than us convincing Rhonda Green to accept an all expense vacation to the tropics.”

“He does have lovely eyes,” Oliver said with a sigh.

Felicity snorted and smacked the back of her hand against Oliver’s bicep. “Even if she wanted to accept, she won’t have the time off.”

“I really wish she’d come work for QC or one of the foundations. It would be a weight off Emma’s mind,” Oliver said sincerely.

It was when Oliver was worried about others that Felicity loved him the most. His fondness for Emma extended to her mom, even though Rhonda wasn’t their biggest fan. From the moment Emma punched a paparazzo, Oliver had been trying to convince her mom to accept a job that paid more than the minimum wage, came with paid time off, and benefits. Rhonda stubbornly refused to accept any _charity_ from their family. “Unfortunately, Rhonda is as stubborn as you. She’s not willing to take a handout.”

“A job isn’t a handout,” Oliver said defensively.

“I don’t think we’re ever going to convince Rhonda of that,” Felicity said as she stroked his arm.

“It’s only money,” Oliver grumbled.

Felicity arched a brow at her husband. As enlightened as he was, even he couldn’t always keep his inner billionaire from showing. “Says the man who doesn’t know what it’s like to not have it.” When he opened his mouth to protest, she continued, “The five years you were away don’t count. You weren’t living in a cash based economy.”

Oliver snorted a small laugh.

The classroom door opened and a man wearing a neatly trimmed beard and lab coat cleared his throat. “Robert Smoak’s parents.” Felicity and Oliver followed the man into the classroom. The man held out his hand, “I’m Maxwell Litt.”

“I’m Bobby’s father, Oliver Queen,” Oliver said as he shook Mr. Litt’s hand. “This is Bobby’s mother, Felicity Smoak.”

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Felicity said as she shook the teacher’s hand. “I think you’re Bobby’s favorite teacher this year.”

Mr. Litt gestured to three chairs in front of his desk. “I was expecting Mr. Merlyn too.”

“Our youngest daughter is fussy at bedtime if Tommy’s not there,” Felicity felt compelled to explain. “Otherwise, he’d be here. We take Bobby’s education very seriously.”

“Relax, Ms. Smoak. It was merely an observation. We are lucky if one parent shows up for some children,” Mr. Litt said as he took a seat. “I imagine this has felt very repetitive for you tonight. I’m sure all of us have shared similar feedback. Robert is bright and a sweet child. He is far more advanced than the rest of his class. As I’ve told Mr. Merlyn, I’ve been giving Robert calculus to study because algebra is too easy for him.” He leaned back in his chair. “Robert is starting high school in the fall?”

“Yes,” Felicity said, her fingers fidgeting with the strap of the purse in her lap. “He needs to be challenged more.”

Mr. Litt slid a folder across his desk. “I’ve already administered his high school placement test.” Felicity opened the folder and removed the exam results. Mr. Litt continued, “I will admit this is the first time I’ve had a student use crayons to take the test.”

“A perfect score,” Felicity said, her heart sinking. It wasn’t that she wasn’t incredibly proud of her son, but she didn’t know what they were going to do with Bobby if he was already placing out of AP Calculus and he still had another seven months of junior high. She refused to let him begin college. He was too young.

“Are you planning on sending him to Obama or Kord?” Mr. Litt asked, naming the two specialized science high schools in the city.

“We haven’t decided,” Oliver said. “Our husband wants him to go to Kord, it’s closer to home.”

“Kord is an excellent school, but I’m going to recommend Obama. The head of the math department is Supriya Mukherjee. She has her PhD in mathematics from Harvard and retired early from a job at Gotham National to become a teacher. She has won the teacher of the year award three times. She has been working with me on developing my curriculum for Robert. I think it would be worth your time to meet with her to discuss what she can do for him next year.”

“Thank you, Mr. Litt,” Felicity said, fighting tears. “Thank you for looking out for Bobby’s best interests – we are grateful. You’re very patient with him. I know it isn’t easy to have a seven-year-old who thinks he knows everything in your class.”

“Robert is definitely challenging, but in the best way. Most teachers go a lifetime and never meet someone like your son. It’s an honor to be his teacher and I know he will go on to make all of us proud. In the meantime, I’ll do my best to keep him from getting bored and try to make sure he has some fun while he’s at it.”

“Thank you, Mr. Litt,” Oliver said, rising to his feet. “We’ll reach out to Dr. Mukherjee and schedule an appointment with her.”

Felicity and Oliver shook Mr. Litt’s hand and returned to the hallway. Oliver placed his arm around Felicity’s shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “He’s fine. High school is going to be fine too.”

Felicity nodded her head in agreement, even though she wasn’t entirely convinced. Bobby’s eighth birthday was a month away and he was already doing math most eighteen-year-olds couldn’t do. She’d hoped he would make it to fifteen before they sent him to college. At the rate he was going, they were going to have to send him at thirteen, at the latest. “I’m not ready for him to go to college,” she said, tears spilling from her eyes.

Oliver pulled her into a hug and kissed her temple. “We’re not sending him to college. He sleeps with a night light and a teddy bear. He’s not going anywhere until it’s the right time. If we need to hire private tutors until he’s ready, that’s what we’ll do.”

Felicity rested her forehead against Oliver’s head as she regained her composure. He was right, not that she would admit that to him, but he was right. They had options to make sure Bobby’s intellect was challenged as his emotional maturity caught up. There was still some time before they’d have to face sending him to college. “Okay.”

“How about dinner? I bet Chuck can feed us at the chef’s table if we knock on the back door,” Oliver said with a cheeky grin.

“You don’t play fair, Mr. Queen,” Felicity said as they walked arm and arm down the corridor. “We can go to dinner, but no shop talk.”

“No shop talk,” Oliver promised, opening the outside door. “I’ll text everyone and tell them to take the night off.”

It was a mild night for October and there wasn’t any rain in the forecast. Felicity wished they hadn’t driven straight from work. She wouldn’t mind walking the few blocks to Chuck’s restaurant.

“Tommy deserves a date night too,” Felicity said when they arrived at their car.

“There’s a Comets game this weekend,” Oliver said, opening the car door for her.

“That’s a great idea. He’ll love that,” Felicity said with a smile as she sat in the passenger seat.

“In Vegas,” Oliver said quickly before closing the car door.

Felicity chuckled as Oliver made a face at her as he walked around the front of the car. “I believe Madame Butterfly is opening next month,” she said as he sat down.

“Milan?” Oliver asked with a wink as he turned the engine on.

“Paris,” Felicity said with a grin.

Oliver leaned across the center console and gave his wife a slow kiss. “Tommy will love that.”

“You could always join us,” Felicity said. Before he could remind her how much he hated the opera, she amended her offer. “Come to Paris, skip the opera.”

“It will be good for Tommy to have a weekend alone with each of us,” Oliver said.

Felicity agreed with Oliver. They were always traveling for work together. It meant that they were able to have more alone time together than either were able to have with Tommy. He never expressed jealousy, but Tommy did say he wished he was able to spend time alone with his spouses without the possibility of a child interrupting. The past four months had been good, and their marriage felt like it was back on solid ground. Felicity wanted to make sure her marriage never became as strained as it had become over the past three years. “Maybe we should rethink our beach vacation. Maybe the three of us should take a long weekend and go somewhere without the kids. Somewhere where clothing is optional.”

Oliver smiled. “I like the way you think. A private island in the Mediterranean.”

“Greece would be nice. I’ve always wanted to see Santorini,” Felicity said with giddy excitement.

“Do we tell Tommy, or surprise him?” Oliver said, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

“He is fun to surprise,” Felicity said.

“Planning for Operation Nude Beach begins tonight,” Oliver said.

Felicity laughed. “That’s a terrible code name.”

Oliver scrunched his nose as he thought. He smiled at her and winked, “Operation Infinite Love.”

Warmth flooded Felicity’s chest. “I like it, but I think Tommy will realize we’re up to something.”

Oliver sighed heavily as he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “Operation Blue Sky.”

Felicity nodded. The code name could pass as a QC project. “Agreed.”

Oliver turned on the radio and Felicity shifted in her seat to watch the city go by her window. The thought of a long weekend away with Oliver and Tommy chased away all her current worries about Bobby. With her husbands by her side, she could face anything, even a precocious genius hellbent on attending college before puberty hit.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Your kudos and comments are what keep me writing and are always appreciated.
> 
> Took a small break from audit insanity to edit this installment. I hope to be back soon with a new update.
> 
> You can also come say hi to me on tumblr. I'm always happy to answer questions about this verse or anything else Arrow. http://realityisoverrated-fic.tumblr.com


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